For everything I wanted, this place had everything on the list: great walkable location, garage parking (small fee), washer/dryer in unit, not a studio (separate bedroom), decent closet space, and balcony. A few extras: baseboard water heat (faster and quieter), eat-in kitchen (space for a separate dining area), well-built older building with better insulation from sound, trash chute on every floor, package delivery acceptance.
I will concede that it was hard to contact the property manager before moving in, but basically it was full and there was nothing to report. I stopped by the office, and a couple times the property manager was available and told me there were no vacancies. Not much to do about that. But I was pretty sure I wanted to live there and I was month-to-month at my old place, so I just kept at it until a place became available. Without being a pest or being a customer with a bad attitude. (Not sure everyone out there knows how to do that.) Once I was a resident, I had no trouble getting anything fixed, which was rare in my 1.5 years (only thing was a toilet and they immediately replaced the malfunctioning part and a small water leak because a tenant way above me overflowed her bathroom).
To some people, a washer/dryer in unit is not a big deal, so maybe it's not worth it to you, but it sure was to me, and good luck trying to find a comparably priced unit with that feature, plus a heated garage, anywhere else.